#1 at KRIZ/Phoenix: “It’s Too Late” by Carole King, the lead single and instant classic from her landmark Tapestry album. She also wrote the song at #9, up from #21 last week: “You’ve Got A Friend” by James Taylor.
Other instant classics on this list:
- “Brown Sugar” (#14), a former #1 by the Rolling Stones;
- “Take Me Home Country Roads” (#20), the first hit by John Denver (with Fat City);
- “Joy To The World” (#28), the former chart-topper by Three Dog Night;
- “Draggin’ The Line” (#34) by Tommy James (sans Shondells);
- “Truckin’ ” (#39) by the Grateful Dead.
New (actually a “return”) at #22 is “Indian Reservation” by the Raiders (who by this time dropped Paul Revere from their name along with those silly Revolutionary War-era uniforms on stage). The John D. Loudermik-penned song would zoom to #1 in another two weeks.
Another politically charged song is “Chicago” (#15 to #4) by Graham Nash, written about the violence at the 1968 Democratic convention and the subsequent trial of the “Chicago 8” who were charged with inciting the violence.
Not as political but a great social commentary is Simon & Garfunkel’s lyrical “America” (#32) from their 1968 album Bookends, which was released as a single in 1971 following the duo’s split.
Among the other notable singles: Ringo Starr’s first solo hit, “It Don’t Come Easy” (#2); “Funky Nassau” (#11) by the Beginning of the End; and Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s “Lucky Man” (#12)
Bob Dylan is at #36 with the Leon Russell-produced “Watching The River Flow” (#36). [Note: The original has been removed from the web; this link is to a Joe Cocker live version that is closest arrangement to Dylan’s single. Bonus: Cocker’s band for this 1983 charity concert includes Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, and Rolling Stones Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, among others.] Cocker himself is at #30 with “High Time We Went.”
Jethro Tull’s brilliant classic Aqualung is one of the “Latest KRIZ Featured Albums.” Tracks KRIZ played included “Locomotive Breath,” “Cross-Eyed Mary” and “Aqualung.” Also featured is Procol Harum’s magnificent Broken Barricades LP with the radio hits “Simple Sister” and the title track.